Sarah Palin finally came out and made her stance on illegal immigration clear. She is pro amnesty for illegal aliens. In an interview to Univision she stated unequivocally that she is for a pathway to citizenship. In the same interview she says she is against amnesty for illegal aliens. Have your cake and eat it to, I think that is called.

Back on the same day that John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate I started investigating Palin's past on illegal immigration. I invited others to send in anything they found. There was nothing on the record. Many did write in and said that Laura Ingraham said that one time she was talking to Palin and she said she was against amnesty. That was the only statement anywhere that could be found.

Now we know that she is against amnesty, all the while she is for it with a "pathway to citizenship".

You see this is what is wrong with these people. They think they can be on both sides of the issue at once and that simply isn't possible. You are either against amnesty or you are not. If you are for a pathway to citizenship for those who have illegally entered our country then you are pro-amnesty as you have virtually absolved them of all of their illegality.

People have bashed me for questioning "the Palin". They wrote in to say that obviously she is against illegal immigration. This was all wishful thinking and like so many other issues that the politicians have avoided, until they take a clear stance don't assume anything (and even then, if they're only saying it look at their record).

Sarah Palin is in lock-step with John McCain when it comes to amnesty for illegal aliens. Her answers are almost indistinguishable from McCain's, Obama's or even the most pro-illegal alien congressman in the house, Luis Gutierrez, for that matter.

Univision: Governor, let me ask you about immigration. How many undocumented immigrants are there in Alaska?Sarah Palin: I don't know, I don't know. That's a good question.

Univision: As governor, how do you deal with them? Do you think they all should be deported?Sarah Palin:There is no way that in the US we would roundup every illegal immigrant - there are about 12 million of the illegal immigrants - not only economically is that just an impossibility but that's not a humane way anyway to deal with the issue that we face with illegal immigration.

Univision:Do you then favor an amnesty for the 12 or 13 million undocumented immigrants?Sarah Palin:No, I do not. I do not. Not total amnesty. You know, people have got to follow the rules. They've got to follow the bar, and we have got to make sure that there is equal opportunity and those who are here legally should be first in line for services being provided and those opportunities that this great country provides.

Univision:To clarify, so you support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants?Sarah Palin:I do because I understand why people would want to be in America. To seek the safety and prosperity, the opportunities, the health that is here. It is so important that yes, people follow the rules so that people can be treated equally and fairly in this country.

...

Univision: What is your strategy? How are you planning to win the latino vote?Sarah Palin: I will tell you, I wish that there were more hours in the day so that we can get out there and to more of the communities with such the strong Latino vote that is out there and really tell them that we desire to work for them. We are asking them to hire us and let us work for them.

Sickening we can't find a real leader in this country who cares about Americans first.

Comments

A little fairness please. Common sense needs to be applied here. Her life and existence have been in Alaska. I somehow believe that there are fewer illegal Mexicans there, than in Maine. When you run a state the size of Alaska, 12 million doesn't sound like too much. She just needs to be educated about the problem. McCain's staff needs to show her the damage being done to the rest of us.

I am sure she was told what to say, so as not to embarrass Johnny boy. Go along to get along. It is a big boys club and she is a little fish. McCain with all his Hispandering couldn't have Sara stepping out of line and make a major gaff on Spanish television.

Number one rule of politics these days is tell what ever group you are speaking to, what they want to hear. Doesn't matter if it makes any sense to the rest of the voters. Pander to each group as if they are the only one that counts.

Posted by: Brad on October 29, 2008 07:38 PM

I don't accept this 12 million figure. Univision and the politicians are trying to minimize the problem. The nearest big town to me has about 80,000 people and over half are illegal aliens. The northern part of the city has been invaded and occupied, there are spanish speaking signs and businesses everywhere. When I grew up there in the 1970s the city had nice lawns, the streets were clean, and there was pride in where we lived. Now it's a barrio ghetto with cars parked in the front yards, crime, and a fearful place to walk.

P.S., to get a job more and more businesses require one to be bilingual.

Posted by: Kenneth E. Pope on October 30, 2008 11:56 AM

You said: "Now we know that she is against amnesty, all the while she is for it with a "pathway to citizenship"."

Don't give up on Sarah yet...

I think you're confusing two different things...or wrapping them together maybe...amnesty and a pathway to citizenship. I'm good with that too.

She NEVER said she supported amnesty. Her reply was "I do..." when asked by Univision: "To clarify, so you support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants?". I think most people support a pathway to citizenship for immigrants...as long as it's done right.

And, she kept stressing that it had to be done legally and the right way. She was very clear that the ones here legally should be "first in line". And, the path to citizenship is available to the illegal aliens just like it was available to the ones that did it right.

Bottom line, I get the feeling she thinks the illegals should go the accepted, standard process.

Posted by: doogle on August 9, 2009 10:55 PM

Extremely depressing news.

She will lose hundreds of thousands of us FReepers if this is true. I'm so mad I could spit.

Posted by: mojitojoe on August 10, 2009 12:27 AM

"To clarify, so you support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants?"

Nobody should support a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens... EVER. They have broken our laws and should be deported. Unless of course your view of the rule of law is rewarding lawbreakers. Giving citizenship away like candy is disgusting.

As far as making them go to "the back of the line", there is no "back of the line"... there are millions upon millions filing to come here legally every year and we can't allow them all in or our infrastructure would collapse. There will never be a "back of the line" for legal immigrant applicants.

I am a die-hard Sarah fan but I will drop her like a liberal with the Constitution if this turns out to be true and not just another socialist smear. What is the date of this interview? If she gave it during the campaign she may have just been following the orders of McAmnesty.

Posted by: CA Voter on December 7, 2009 01:10 PM

Most American citizens don't have command of the information in the first 10-20 videos documenting the truth about The Illegal Immigration Crisis. SO WHY DO WE THINK OUR POLITICIANS WILL KNOW? (See the Truth found here):http://www.illegalimmigrationcrisis.com

Almost all politicians are running from & hiding the facts. And, refuse or fail to face the tyranny within our own government. For them political correctness has become more important than The Constitution.

We Were Warned
"The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he can't believe he exists"
~ J. Edgar Hoover ~ 33E Scottish Rite, Grand Cross, Director of the FBI and Warren Commission.

I understand, what is unfolding on this Earth is indeed a monstrous conspiracy so great, so grave, so meticulously planned, and so near it’s completion ….and the vast majority of people are wholly ignorant of it … and on such weighty matters concerning the loss of liberty and freedom, of life and death, both physical and spiritual, ignorance is not bliss. ~ Ian Welsh

She was probably dutifully following the ticket platform as the VP. Some clarification on this point has become essential. If she really feels this way she doesn't deserve to hold office any more than McAmnesty does.

Posted by: CA Voter on December 11, 2009 04:16 PM

When McCain said "You don't have to fear Obama because he's a good man and a family man" shortly before the election, I figured that McCain really didn't want the job and was hoping O'bama would get it. I guess I was right.. and now I see Sara Palin is really a disappointment and a little screwy to boot. She had said that she intended to change John's mind on amnesty because at one time she was definitely against amnesty..She needs to explain herself as right now she sounds like a real ditz.

Posted by: aleen stone on March 30, 2010 10:33 PM

As Digger said: "No one should support a pathway to citizenship".

Palin recently said when pressured by Bill O'reilly that she wants "illegals to stay here and get right with the law". She also said "you can't round them up." Was beyond dissapointed. Robert Bonner, former customs/border head said it's not difficult to send illegals back, that illegals will self deport around one half overnight if you 1. secure the borders with complete fence, 2. crack down on all employers who hire illegals. Senator Darrell Issa said same thing. Most politicians are corporate globalists, as is Obama, they are beholden to big business who actually run our country, tied in with government's tight ties with Mexico and the business deals. This requires open border, illegals and guest workers for cheap profits. Knowing the 'why' they are doing all this to Americans tells us we need to vote in candidates of third party who are against corporate globalism, a NON GLOBALIST. Some Republican Non- Globalists are Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, Darrell Issa, Tom Tancredo. Amnesty only means "no penalty", so politicans say no amnesty to trick us. What we must hear is that illegals get self deported by attrition as above, no jobs they will go, a mere announcement they will go. NO to a 'touch back' which are instant Ellis Islands where they cross border, register and come right back (was Romney's phrase). Many parts of CA are rundown with illegals, much crime you can see on local L.A. police websites. Word need to get out of American's losses by illegals direct and indirect, for decades, so please tell your stories: CA: Loss of health care due to overwhelmed system, attacked on street in broad daylight twice by illegal perverts, rentals tripled in '84, much business fraud and troubles, car accidents by illegals, violence, calling our kids Nazis in school, living in what seems like Mexico more and more wishing you could talk to an American and hear English more often. Government thinks we are collateral damage to their big plans, we must take our country back. It's all in our vote!

Posted by: Lor on August 5, 2010 02:41 AM

Digger, it's interesting to note that Palin's star has fallen among Conservative and moderate Repubs alike and especially among Independent Conservatives (who tend to be law-and-order Conservatives). She has virtually no hope of getting the nomination next year. Liberal writers like the one at McClatchy (see the link below) continue to completely ignore the fact that it isn't so much Moderate Repubs who've "abandoned" her but rather it's Conservatives who she's lost the support of. The liberal writer also won't acknowledge the fact that it's Conservatives who are "the activists" driving the Party now, not Moderates. Witness Governor Scott Walker's rise to fame in Wisconsin and the Conserative movement in the Rust Belt/Midwest states going up against the unions that are strangling those states.

In the nearly 2.5 years since she made that Univision interview, she's raised a ton of money and last year, she became the advisor to Christine O'Donnell (who many of us called "O'Dumbell") in a major failed campaign. In spite of her money and celebrity which are considerable, she couldn't get Joe Miller elected in her own state against Murkowski.

Her friendship with popular RINO Governor Brewer (who Conservatives seem to forget is a tax hiker and strong McCain supporter) didn't translate to Palin getting kudos for standing next to Brewer while Brewer gave her speech the evening she signed 1070. It didn't seem right having a pro-Amnesty pol standing beside Gov. Brewer. A pro-Amnesty pol wouldn't be pro-1070! Palin was clearly there to try to "make points" with law and order Conservatives and it didn't work.

One of the most damning pieces against her was this piece sent to me by Christian Conservative writer Don Hank on Palin's supposed pro-life stance. After reading it, it's even harder to believe she's a Conservative. I highly recommend it:

"Sarah Palin claims to be personally pro-life but her words and actions prove that she is officially pro-choice and stands against the God-given right to life of the unborn. Even if Roe v. Wade were reversed, Palin says she would still leave the decision to kill children to others. That's not leadership. Like the liberation of Germany in 1945, the road to protecting America's children might pass through fields of sacrifice. Whether or not she would see this as possibly costing her entire political future, ProlifeProfiles hopes that Mrs. Palin will take a new stand and make a true commitment to protect unborn children."

Her husband's apparent philandering with prostitutes and other family problems haven't helped her.

Another factor could be at play, one that is never discussed. Palin's physical good looks from 2008 have left her. She looks emaciated. Her sex appeal--which I believe accounted for much of the male support in 2008--has disappeared. This isn't a criticism of her, just a statement of fact. People age and some age more gracefully than others. Zsa Zsa Gabor looked great right into her 80s. Sarah Palin hasn't done well in the aging department.

All these--along with continued stupid statements by Palin in interviews during the 2010 campaign--have cost her support but, again, that loss of support I believe has been mostly from Conservatives.

The problem with this McClatchy writer is that he as well as other liberals still considers Palin to be "a renegade Conservative" which, in my opinion, she clearly isn't. She's very simply an Open Borders, pro-choice Establishment Republican who likes to hunt game and predators.

Footnote: I still can't believe she didn't google "how many illegal aliens are in Alaska" in 2008 prior to being asked "How many illegal aliens are in your state?" by some interviewer because had she done so, she wouldn't have appeared to be so "uninformed".

Posted by: levotb on February 25, 2011 03:19 PM

Sometimes people get talked into breaking laws by crashing borders. Sometimes people are kidnapped and/or trafficked. Immigration decisions should be done on a case by case basis. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

Posted by: diane elizabeth ballou on March 14, 2011 08:04 PM

Palin is no better than Juan McAmnesty when it comes to illegal immigration and I don't think that it's because of any lack of education on the subject. She's just another one of those who hasn't got the guts to punish the ones who are already living here. They use excuses like 'it would cost too much to round them up and deport them' or 'it would be inhumane to deport them when they have lived here for years and have created a family'. All total BS!
They also try to use the excuse that a 'pathway to citizenship' is not amnesty because technically amnesty would have no requirements and the 'pathway' would... more BS!!! ANYTHING that allows people who have sneaked into our country like theives to remain in our country legally IS AMNESTY to the majority of us and they know it. It is REWARDING LAWBREAKERS!!!
The fact that Palin was governor of Alaska and doesn't know how many illegals were in the state is yet another perfect example of why she isn't presidential material.
Palin is a great cheerleader for the team but is definately NOT player material.

The solution to: ILLegal Immigration is Illegal State Labor Enforcement. Enact Hefty Fines against employers and all illegals employed. Working hand in hand on all State Compliance inspections with a USINS team -- togeather -- jointly, but with separate laws to enforce. Thats the solution -- Take the profits out of their system and we will have justice.

Huber Hanes

Former: U.S. Border Patrolman

Posted by: Huber Hanes on March 18, 2011 01:48 PM

I have been discussing Palin and her path to citizenship on the Ann Coulter chat site for years. It is amazing how many call me a liar when I show them about Sarah's path to citizenship plan! They follow blindly. Now that wiki-leaks has revealed an upper level drive for a North American Union it all becomes apparent. Bachmann seems to me to be a safe bet in this area.

Posted by: Barry Hoff on May 27, 2011 12:23 AM

Sarah Palin is just like the usual politician that often can be turned on both sides. Often, there are conflicting sides especially if your are running into office. Maybe she should have been more focus on the side she wanted to vote. You can't choose both sides.